Port Canaveral May Pay $1 Million For New Basin

PORT CANAVERAL — Port commissioners will decide Thursday if they want to foot a $1 million bill for dredging an additional 3 feet of the West Turning Basin under construction.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is paying for the initial dredging of the basin to a depth of 31 feet, but Port Engineer Joe LaPolla said an extra 3 feet would allow a wider variety of ships to use the basin. The main port channel and other commercial basins are dredged to 34 feet, he said.

The additional dredging would require more Corps permits, but LaPolla said getting those permits should not be a problem.